The letter is expectantly formal, but terribly honest. "... never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than 6 months after a system release," Iwata wrote. "This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS."

That situation Iwata refers to is that the 3DS has not sold to Nintendo's expectations, and after the company's drastic reduction in its annual earnings forecast, it was time to try something equally as drastic. You know, like cut nearly a third off of its original $250 asking price to $170? (This is effective Aug. 12.)

"If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad (user) base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system," Iwata admitted. He then went on to remind fans of the 20 free games the company will offer early adopters as consolation.

This letter comes after Iwata addressed investors with the news that he will take a 50 percent cut to his salary as a result of the poor 3DS launch, and other Nintendo executives will take less severe pay cuts. However, the Nintendo president mentions in the letter that there's nothing the company can do to completely make up for cheated feeling many fans might be experiencing. And while that's true, it might take more than just free games to make players feel like their purchase was worthwhile.

Nintendo announced recently that the 3DS and upcoming Wii U will embrace digital item transactions. It's the first step of many that the company should make if it wants to compete with consoles and mobile devices whose game offerings become more and more "connected." After witnessing the 3DS stumble out of the gate, we can't to see how Nintendo debuts the Wii U next year.